Key Takeaways
- Remember New Year’s? When you vowed you were going to lose weight, drink less, read more, save more, cook more, and maybe ride a unicorn (hey, anythin
- You’d kick off the year with renewed dedication but, as time would pass, your excitement would fade. You’d come up with a plethora of excuses for why
- “I had to binge-watch Netflix so I didn’t have time to read.”
Last Updated: 6/15/22 | July 15th, 2022
Remember New Year’s? When you vowed you were going to lose weight, drink less, read more, save more, cook more, and maybe ride a unicorn (hey, anything is possible!)?
You’d kick off the year with renewed dedication but, as time would pass, your excitement would fade. You’d come up with a plethora of excuses for why you couldn’t stick to your goal:
“It’s too cold to walk to the gym.”
“It’s John’s birthday so I have to drink.”
“I had to binge-watch Netflix so I didn’t have time to read.”
“I can’t save extra this month because I have to buy (insert some commercial object you just need).”
“Unicorns don’t exist so I can’t ride them.”
We’ve all been there (myself included). After all, inaction is the easiest action. Doing nothing takes less work than doing something.
I do it all the time. I paid for a gym membership for years before I started to go regularly. And it took my years to finally get into a daily reading habit after lots of false starts. There are so many other things I want to do too, but when I don’t do them, I can always find an excuse as to why.
No one likes to wake up and look themselves in the mirror and go, “Well, I failed again.” This is why we create our own myths as to why we couldn’t live up to our own expectations — and why it wasn’t our fault. We all have elaborate tales we tell ourselves to make us feel better and not like a disappointment.
I know mine. “I didn’t do X because I had to go to an event and there was good wine.” Or “I didn’t do Y because I got carried away with work.”
I know all the other stories people tell themselves about why they don’t travel more:
“I don’t have anyone to travel with.”
“My credit isn’t good enough to get a points card.”
I’ve heard every excuse there is. It’s not to say these aren’t valid excuses. They are. We all have barriers to success. We all have problems. We all have things that get in the way. Not everyone is going to be able to travel.
But what if instead of letting those limits define you, you were the hero that defeats the dragon and saves Princess Travel? What if you became the person who travels and has amazing adventures?
As T.S. Eliot said, “It’s never too late to become the person you might have been.”
It’s time to say to yourself, “OK, I want to travel, and maybe it is expensive, but if all these people I see online are doing it, maybe it’s not so hard. Let me look into it. Let me Google some information.”
Admit that you don’t know what you don’t know.
Admit to yourself maybe – just maybe – there is a way to travel but you just don’t know what it is and your preconceived notions are demons holding you back!
Turn your excuses upside down – and into action plans:
“I don’t have enough money…so I will look to cut my expenses as best I can and change my spending habits.”
“I can’t save enough…so I will create a savings plan and take proactive steps to make it happen.”
“I don’t earn enough…so I will look for a second job or something in the gig economy. Maybe I’ll become an Uber driver.”
“Flights are too expensive…so I will go someplace cheaper or start collecting points for a free flight.”
“My credit isn’t good enough to get a points card…so I’ll start with an easier card to build my credit up.”
“My currency is too bad…so I’ll go somewhere cheaper.”
“I don’t have anyone to travel with…so I’ll go on a tour or alone.”
Yes, travel can be expensive. Yes, it costs money. And yes, not everyone can travel.
But when you start with a negative mindset, you’ve already lost the game.
I’m not saying that magical thinking is the solution. No, magical thinking doesn’t work. The Secret is BS. Wishing for something won’t make it happen.
Americans trade time for money, and although we all complain about it, it’s an arrangement we’ve kept in place for decades.
Taking extended time off is not in our culture. Although we say we envy Europeans and their long vacations, in the US, we still, on the whole, follow the “work, retire, travel” model. It’s a system that isn’t going to change soon.
I was a victim of this arrangement until I met some backpackers in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
As we discussed travel, time off, and doing what you loved, I kept thinking about how unhappy I was with the American bargain. I had never really thought about it before.
The more the backpackers I met told me about their lifestyle — meeting people around the world, living in bungalows on the beach, eating delicious and cheap food, taking local transportation, and just having fun — the more envious I became.
I went home and changed my mindset.
I created spreadsheets, bought guidebooks, researched online, and cut my expenses as much as I could. I was merciless.
I know people are going to read this post, roll their eyes, talk about my privileged middle-class upbringing, wonder if my parents paid for everything, tell me how they are in debt, and yada, yada, yada.
And there is no doubt I’ve been blessed. There’s no doubt I had a head start.
And there is no doubt not everyone is going to be able to travel.
But I still had to save, plan, and find ways to make that trip (and future trips) happen. My parents never gave me anything for my trip. They actively tried to discourage it.
If I asked you to turn the mirror inward and be completely honest, could you really say to me you’ve exhausted all your options?
Could you really say you looked at your expenses to the penny?
That you looked at working overseas as a way to fund your trip or pay off your debt?
That you couldn’t have a piggy bank where you put at le
